Jericho residents demand Israel release bodies of Palestinians killed in raids

Palestinians held a protest at the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, southwest of Jericho, on Saturday to demand that Israel release the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Israel withheld the bodies of five Palestinians killed during a raid on the Aqabat Jabr camp on February 6, and holds dozens more killed in previous attacks - some for months and years.

The protesters waved Palestinian flags and denounced Israel's practice of holding the bodies of dead Palestinians as a violation of international law, according to Wafa.

Israel has withheld the bodies of around more than 1000 Palestinians since 2015, including those of prisoners.

In December, following Israel's retention of the body of jailed Palestinian leader Nasser Abu Hmeid, Hussein Shijaiyah - a campaigner against the practice - said Israel has intensified the policy.

"It is a form of collective punishment that leaves an open wound for families," Shijaiyah said.

Since the start of this year, Israeli violence in the occupied territories has claimed the lives of at least 61 Palestinian adults and children.